• First-half sales up 80%
• Loss in line with company forecast
• Confident of strong summer bookings

Budget airline easyJet (EZJ) reported a pre-tax loss of £411 million in the six months ending 31 March 2023, its shares were largely trading flat at 523p.

The company’s pre-tax loss was in line with the previously guided range of £405 to £425 million so there were no surprises for shareholders.

Johan Lundgren, easyJet chief executive, said the business was entering the ‘summer with confidence’.

‘Recent research has shown that travel is the number one priority for household discretionary spend with customers safeguarding their holidays and increasingly opting for low-cost airlines and brands which provide great value,’ he added.

DEMAND IS BACK

EasyJet’s total revenue was up 80% year-on-year to £2.7 billion compared to £1.5 billion in the first half of 2022, driven by pricing strength, an 25% increase in capacity to 37.9 million journeys and improved load factors.

Unfortunately, group headline costs increased by 52% to £3.1 billion compared to £2.04 billion in the first half of 2022, primarily due to the increase in flown capacity, significantly increased fuel costs and industry wide inflationary pressures.

EasyJet’s holidays division seems to be a ‘shining light’ for the business going forward. It expects to make excess of £80 million profit before tax for the full year – it has seen a 200% increase in passengers year-on-year.

This division is also going to launch a ‘second source’ market in Switzerland for holidays departing in early 2024, and this is the first of several planned new European markets.

'EasyJet’s multi-currency technology platform has helped with this expansion at a very low risk', the company said.

The budget airline will also create additional slots in Lisbon to cater for the peak period. In the Greek Islands, easyJet has added 67% capacity.

NEW BIRMINGHAM BASE

EasyJet also announced that a new UK base in Birmingham will be built ‘which will not only provide more choice and connectivity for consumers but also the creation of hundreds of jobs,’ said Lundgren.

Neil Shah, executive director of content and strategy at Edison said in a research note: ‘EasyJet continues to position themselves as leaders in the travel market by expanding both in the UK and abroad. The group continues to expand their packages with new holiday destinations, such as Switzerland starting this summer.’

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